Property Tax Information

Property owners in Kimberley are required to pay taxes based on the value of their property.

Property taxes are levied and collected by the City of Kimberley. The City is also responsible for the collection and distribution of taxes for the Province (school taxes), Regional District, Hospital Districts, BC Assessment and Municipal Finance Authority.

Tax notices

Tax notices are normally mailed to registered property owners in the 3rd week of May. If you have not received your tax notice contact City Hall.

Payments

Property taxes are due at the end of the first business day following July 1st.

Payments must be received at City Hall by 4:45 pm on the due date. The City accepts cash, cheques or debit cards at the cashier counter. Payments can also be made at most financial institutions, through telephone banking, internet banking or wire transfers. Post-dated cheques are also acceptable. Please contact City Hall at 250.427.5311 for more information on payment methods.

Payments are first applied to delinquent taxes and interest, then arrears taxes and interest and then current taxes as per Section 224 (1) of the Community Charter.

Please note: Postmarks from the post office will not be accepted as date of payment.

Property Tax Payment Plan

The City of Kimberley offers a convenient tax prepayment plan for those accounts with a zero balance. The City will automatically debit your bank account for 10 months on the first day of the month – August 1st to May 1st. Payment amounts are estimated each year so that 90% of your taxes will be prepaid before the tax notices are mailed out.

The City will pay interest on the prepayments and apply it against your tax account. The interest rate is 3% below the prime interest rate. To apply for the property tax payment plan, you must fill in a Tax Prepayment Plan Authorization Form and supply a voided cheque to the City of Kimberley.

Property Tax Penalty & Interest

Property taxes for the current year that are outstanding after the tax due date are subject to a 10% penalty (as per Section 234 (2) of the Community Charter).

Property taxes from the previous year are considered taxes in arrears and are charged interest at the provincial prescribed rate. This rate is updated quarterly.

Property taxes from two previous years are considered delinquent taxes and are charged interest at the provincial prescribed rate. This rate is update quarterly.

Home Owner Grant

The Province of BC offers a Home Owner Grant of $570 for home owners under 65 and $845 for home owners over 65 or for home owners with a disability. if your property is located in a northern and rural area,the grant rises to $770 for home owners under 65 and up to $1045 for home owners over 65 or those with a disability. To qualify for a Home Owner Grant:

You must be a permanent resident of British Columbia;

You must be an owner or the spouse/relative of a deceased owner of the property;

The property must be your principal residence; and

You have not applied for a Home Owner Grant for any other property you own.

To apply for a Home Owner Grant read and then fill out the application form at the bottom of your property tax notice and remit prior to the tax due date. You may also claim your Home Owner Grant online. For more details, click HERE

PLEASE NOTE: The Home Owner Grant Application form must be completed, signed and submitted to Kimberley City Hall by close of business on the due date. Any applications received after the tax due date will be subject to the 10% penalty.

Tax Sale

Under section 403 (1) of the Local Government Act, the City must hold a tax sale at 10:00 am on the last Monday of September each year.

Properties taken to tax sale are those properties that have delinquent taxes outstanding on the date of tax sale. The City of Kimberley notifies all property owners subject to tax sale on or before August 20th. To avoid going to tax sale, owners need only to pay the delinquent taxes outstanding.

Once a property is sold at a tax sale, the owner of the property still has one year to redeem the property. To redeem, the owner must pay the full amount of taxes outstanding (current, arrears and delinquent) plus interest at the prescribed rate to the date of redemption.

Purchase Tax Certificates Online

Our tax certificates are conveniently available to purchase online through:

BC ONLINE: If you are already a customer of BC Online , login and select tax certificates online from the main menu. For more infomation about BC Online or to become a customer, visit www.bconline.gov.bc.ca

APIC: If you prefer to pay for the Tax Certificate by credit card, please visit www.apicanada.comto open an account and order your Tax Certificate.